Zia Boccaccio’s store on Main Street, Alpaca International, sells lots of cold-weather wares during the Sundance Film Festival, as film lovers adjust to the wintry climate.
Sweaters, coats, jackets and socks are popular with the Sundance crowds. The festival brings a “wonderful customer base” to Park City, Boccaccio said on Monday, as the festival entered what normally are the slowest days of Sundance.
On the glass front door of Alpaca International, perhaps not even noticeable to someone briskly walking past, is a small yellow sticker that conveys a message about the future of Sundance. The sticker reads “Keep Sundance In Utah,” a reference to the high-stakes discussions regarding where the festival will be located once a contract with Park City expires next year.
Sundance is considering three locations for the festival starting with the 2027 edition. Salt Lake City/Park City; Boulder, Colorado; and Cincinnati are the three finalists. A decision is expected in coming months. The effort between Park City and Salt Lake City would relocate much of the festival to the capital city.
Boccaccio is supporting a movement that aims to persuade Sundance to select the combined bid by Park City and Salt Lake City. It is not clear how broadly the “Keep Sundance In Utah” effort reaches in Park City. There were not similar stickers on display in highly visible locations on the outside of other businesses by Monday evening.
Boccaccio in an interview talked about the importance of Sundance to sales at Alpaca International. She said Sundance visitors, including those working in Hollywood, return to the store year after year. The sticker was affixed to the door as the festival approached.
“Sundance has been one of the most important economic revenue drivers for my company,” she said.
Alpaca International is marking its 19th Sundance in 2025. Boccaccio said the festival is a variable in the annual operations of the store, explaining merchandise and staffing decisions are partially based on Sundance.
If Sundance did not occur, she said, sales during January would not compare to the best months of the year, as it currently does. The drop in sales in January if Sundance leaves the state would be “catastrophic,” Boccaccio said.
“I do not want Sundance to walk away from Park City,” she said, describing the community as supporting the arts and saying that remaining in Utah would continue to advance Robert Redford’s original vision for the festival.
Sundance is amid a closely watched process that started last spring to select a host city. Festival organizers reduced the field to the three finalists and visited the three communities as part of the research. A decision is expected later in 2025.
Sundance is the most lucrative event on the Park City calendar and leaders at City Hall and the tourism industry are involved in the effort, alongside their counterparts in Salt Lake City, to retain the festival in Utah.
The comments by Boccaccio are notable since retailers in Park City have long reported mixed receipts during Sundance, with some posting strong sales and others stocking goods that are not as appealing to the festival crowds. The lodging, restaurant and transportation industries, though, typically enjoy some of their best numbers of the year during Sundance.